1. The Field of the Invention
Many boat engines incorporate an engine cooling system which draws water from the body of water in which the boat is operated and pumps the water into the engine's cooling system. This cooling water is circulated through cavities and passageways within and about the engine and exhausted back into the body of water thereby cooling the engine. Typical boat engines withdraw cooling water from the body of water in which the boat is situated through intake portals in the stern drive portion of the drive mechanism. When the boat is resting in a body of water, the stern drive is below the water line and the intake portals are immersed in the water. Cooling water exits the cooling system through exhaust ducts which are typically found higher on the stern drive mechanism than the intake portals and not necessarily below the water line.
When a boat is removed from a body of water, some of this cooling water is retained within the cooling cavities and passageways of the engine. The presence of this retained water within the cooling system of the engine is typically not a problem when the boat is used frequently. However, when the boat is stored for a period of time, particularly in colder climates, this water can cause problems. Retained water within the engine cooling system can cause corrosion of engine parts and if allowed to freeze it can cause mechanical damage to the engine. Due to these risks, boat owners often replace the retained water by flushing out the retained water in the cooling system with fresh water and then winterize the boat engine. To winterize a boat engine means to replace the retained water in the cooling system with an anti-freeze/anti-corrosion lubricating solution.
2. The Relevant Technology
Several methods for flushing a boat engine's cooling system are known in the art. Most boat engines have drain plugs which can be removed, allowing the liquid in the cooling system to be drained out and be replaced. However, drain plugs are often difficult to remove while the engine is installed in a boat. Draining the cooling system in this manner also requires the removal of cooling system hoses. Even when the engine is drained in this manner, pockets of retained water often remain trapped within the cooling system chambers.
Another known method of replacing retained cooling water with antifreeze is immersing the stern drive portion of the engine in a large reservoir of antifreeze, completely submerging the intake portals, and running the engine until the cooling system is filled with antifreeze. However, this process is often impractical, requiring large amounts of antifreeze to fill bulky reservoirs or producing messy leaks that waste antifreeze and pollute the environment.
A third known method contemplates completely sealing off the intake portals and delivering antifreeze or liquid directly to the intake portals. This approach requires a complex device to deliver the liquid. Some devices deliver the liquid under pressure directly to the intake portals requiring a sufficiently liquid-tight seal be maintained around the intake portals. Maintaining the liquid-tight seal is difficult when the seal is under pressure and the seal often leaks profusely. If a non-pressurized delivery system is used to deliver the liquid directly to the intake portals, the supply of antifreeze to the intake portals is often inadequate and does not effectively and efficiently flush and winterize the engine's cooling system. Furthermore, if there is a need to change the kind of liquid being supplied to the system during the process, such as switching from water to antifreeze, this third method may require the user to shut off the engine or run the engine without any coolant while the source of liquid is changed.
Typically, once the antifreeze has been flushed through the cooling system using the methods described above, the antifreeze is discharged from exhaust ducts. Known methods of collecting the discharged antifreeze, such as placing a catch basin on the ground beneath the exhaust ducts, waste antifreeze, pollute the environment and require considerable clean up after use.
The present invention avoids the unnecessary waste and expense of the above mentioned methods by providing a practically-sized, open reservoir that fits with a waterproof seal around the stern drive to prevent leaks and pollution, submerges the intake portals and provides means for collecting and reusing antifreeze discharged from the exhaust ducts.